


You Earned This

by AngelWithAStory



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Backstory, Canonical Character Death, Character Study, Drabble, F/M, Heavy Angst, Pre-Canon, slight spoilers for most recent arc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-07
Updated: 2016-11-07
Packaged: 2018-08-29 18:04:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8499829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelWithAStory/pseuds/AngelWithAStory
Summary: Magnus remembered it so well.





	

**Author's Note:**

> well, I got a few nice comments from my first fic and I only took that as encouragement tbh.  
> And also, I've been thinking a lot about Magnus, especially since ep 48. Specifically about Magnus and Julia. 
> 
> yeeeeaaahhhhhhhh
> 
> This is very Eleventh Hour heavy lore-wise

Magnus remembered it so well.

He remembered Raven’s Roost.

The smell of the water below. The feeling of smooth oak beneath his fingers. The smell of wood polish and baked goods in the air.

He remembered Steven.

The gentle, sparse laugh in the workshop. The kind gestures on a job well done. The listening ear as Magnus just _talked_ , and _talked_ about anything he fancied. The comfortable silence as they both just _worked_.

He remembered the rebellion.

The smell of spilt blood. The heavy weapons in his hand as he swung down. The sick feeling in his stomach as he did what was _right_ -

_Julia’s hands through his hair as he cried when the reality became all too much-_

He remembered winning. And those few, infinitely blissful months when Magnus honestly believed that things would be better. That life would be good now.

That things would be different.

At the time, he didn’t think anything of it.

It was a normal day.

He woke up the same. He got to work the same. He constructed just the same as any other damn day in his life.

But now he _remembered_ it.

He would paint from memory: the slight crumb on Steven’s cheek from his lunch that he hadn’t wiped away. The way Julia’s hair was coming out of its bun - just a few wind-stray hairs that fell onto her face - and the glint of the ring on her finger. The smell of the lavender on his hands. The freckles on Julia’s face as she bid him goodbye. Steven’s warm hug just before he left.

Julia’s hands in his. Her lips on his. The way she held his face and ruffled his hair for good luck. How her dress felt as he hugged her. The scent of lavender that clung to her.

_Everything._

Magnus couldn’t let himself forget.

He couldn’t forgive himself if he forgot.

_“I love you, Jules_.”

Magnus felt a deep _ache_ in his soul.

He had felt it since he returned to a ruined home and his family gone.

A gaping wound that refused to heal and Magnus was okay with that.

He didn’t want to forget.

“ _You earned this happy ending.”_

Maybe he had.

And maybe there were times that Magnus _ached_ with regret.

Maybe there were nights when Magnus shook with grief and sorrow and wanted nothing more to have been home when that pillar collapsed.

Maybe there wasn’t a day that passed when Magnus didn’t look down at his hands and feel an emptiness there.

_Pain-_

“Hey, buddy, snap out of it.”

Magnus blinked.

And suddenly the scene around him was different.  

Taako.

Taako was there.

But Taako didn’t know Raven’s Roost.

What was he doing here?

“Hit him again.”

Merle.

Merle was here.

Taako leaned back and Magnus caught his spindly wrist because he could make contact.

“He’s back!” Merle shouted.

“We thought we lost you for a moment there, buddy.” Taako said. He was crouched down beside Magnus.

They were on soil? Mud?

Trees were ominous around them and it took a few moments for it all to come back to Magnus.

They were on a mission.

They had to reclaim… something.

A weird plant/creature/ _thing_ lay dead a little bit away from them, slowly disintegrating.

Magnus tried to shake the fog from his head, but he felt Taako’s hand grip his shoulder.

“Hey, take it easy there, man. Whatever that thing did to you was pretty serious. I think we need to just chill for a moment.” Taako sounded… nervous.

A hand went to his face and Magnus felt tears drying on his cheeks. He hastily wiped them away, pulling himself up further. He nodded and the other two seemed to relax and they let themselves just sit in the quiet for a good long while.

It was Merle who broke it.

“So uh, who’s Jules?”

**Author's Note:**

> Drop a note at [queenmoggy.tumblr](http://queenmoggy.tumblr.com/) to say hi <3
> 
> I think this whole scenario happened because maybe they encountered some nightmare-inducing beast in Wonderland??? Who knows
> 
> ~~I like making big, strong, buff characters vulnerable it's a problem~~


End file.
